If?
by quillwriter22
Summary: Hinata, Heiress of the Hyuga Clan, was abducted one night without a trace, and presumed to be dead. If that's so, then who is Ren? What in the name of all that is sane is Neji planning? What is going on in the shady depths of the Leaf political system?
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters… So sad, I know...

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Prologue:

A woman's scream ripped through the peaceful silence of morning. People were jolted out of their dreams, and went running to find the source of the noise, which had now developed into hysterical crying.

Lord Hiashi Hyuga was the first one to find the woman, his wife, Lady Hinako. He stepped into the room and gazed around with furious and desperate eyes. What he saw though, chilled him to the bone.

Disaster and damage met his eyes. The rice paper walls were splattered with droplets of blood. Not a fatal amount, but it was blood none the less. Blood that should not have been there. He finally turned his gaze back to his wife, who was now giving off horribly heart-wrenching sobs. It was then that he noticed that the bed that she was kneeling over was rumpled.

Rumpled and empty.

Hiashi's heart slammed against his chest, threatening to bash and shatter its way out. With every step he took the thumping increased. Finally he was beside his distraught wife. He knelt down and wrapped his arms around her. Neither one noticed the audience that had collected outside the room. Neither did they notice the horrified expressions that had formed on the peoples faces as they continued to survey the damaged and bloody room, as well as the weeping couple huddled together in the center.

Out in the hall, one man was able to regain the use of his voice. Immediately search parties were formed and sent out. The rest of the clan split up to inform the rest of the village and to gather more volunteers to help look.

But nothing was ever found. No blood trail, no trail of anything. The intruders just vanished. The village was stunned at what had occurred, and right beneath their noses. Intruders were able to enter and escape the village with precious cargo and not even be _detected?_ Not even leave behind a trail? They just _vanished?_

That night, that dark night in history, many secrets would be uncovered. Even more would be made. That night, security throughout the entire village had failed. That night, three-year-old Hinata Hyuga, beloved heiress to the Hyuga Clan, disappeared from her bed.

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My first story…

Sooooooo…

If you want me to continue plz, plz, plz, REVIEW!!!!


	2. A Girl Named Ren

18 years later…

Rain came down in hard pellets as five white and black clad people ran swiftly through the dense forest. Thunder clapped overhead as the five shinobi's scattered into different directions. Their mission strategy was a simple one. So simple in fact, their enemies would over look it. Divide and conquer. So simple a plan, nothing should have gone wrong.

"Toad, what's your condition?"

"I'm fine, but Snake on the other hand… not so much." Toad replied with a hint of a chuckle.

"Shut up, dobe! I'm fine, though I'm afraid to say that Toad has lost a few more brain cells." Snake snapped back angrily.

"Knock it off! Both of you, we're on a mission. So start acting like it!" Their team leader, Hawk, whispered harshly. "Dog, you've got company, fifteen degrees to your left."

"I know, seriously, I could smell this guy coming a mile away..." Dog's voice faded away only to be replaced by sound of metal hitting metal.

"Dog! You were not to engage! Repeat, do not engage!" Hawk hissed into his earpiece.

"Easy for you to say, you and Beetle are up on the cliff by now right?" Snake sneered back.

"Something isn't right about this. They knew we were coming! Everyone get out now! It's an ambush!" Yelled the quietest member of their team, Beetle.

"He's right, they're hiding underground! Retreat!" Hawk ordered.

Immediately all five members turned and retreated back the way they came. Running as fast as they could, they regrouped once they were in the clear. Huddled together in the clearing Hawk searched the surrounding area furiously. Only when he was sure they were safe and alone did he turn to look at his squad again.

"What the hell happened?" Toad yelled angrily, ripping off his anbu mask to reveal a shock of bright blond hair and his whiskered face. His cerulean blue eyes flashing with anger, eyebrows creased and frown set firmly in place. "Simple mission, gather information! But no… how did they find out?"

Hawk ripped his mask off as well, glaring at the blond man. "I don't know Naruto."

He gritted out. He took a moment to push back the tendrils of hair that had fallen in his face. His white eyes giving off a frightening visual, but paired with the veins that were currently visible around his eyes gave him a truly terrifying visage.

"Would you both just shut up?" Snake sneered at the two bickering men. Out of all five, Snake was the only one to be seriously injured. Though you wouldn't know it by looking at him. Of the five, Snake was certainly the tallest. Towering over the others at a height of 6'6", coupled with his naturally dark and mysterious demeanor, there should be no argument. But should and are, are two very different things.

"Oh my! His majesty spoke!" Dog snickered at his joke while taking his own mask off. Shaking his head and ruffling his hair he gave a toothy grin to his comrades.

"Kiba, knock it off. Sasuke is right. You two shouldn't be arguing. Neji is the team captain, so listen to him." The last member, Shino, spoke.

Sasuke doffed his own mask. Unveiling his blood red eyes with their rotating coma like pupils. Neji turned to look at Sasuke for the first time since entering the clearing. Sasuke stood, leaning against a tall tree for support. His body mostly hidden from the moonlight by the shadows of the forest.

"Neji, we need to get to a town. Sasuke is injured and none of us know enough medical jutsu to last until we get home." Shino said rationally. Always rational, always with the logic. Neji nodded his agreement to Shino's suggestion.

"There was a small village a few miles back, we should be able to arrive by daybreak." Naruto said hopefully. He did not want to spend yet another night camping in the rain. Hopefully the town's people would be nice enough to give them some shelter.

With that agreed upon they picked up and left.

.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

Even from the back room Ren could still hear the little bell tinkle, alerting anyone in the store that someone had entered. Thinking that Old Lady Maki would attend to the customer she stayed right where she was, sorting the files of patients. She loved her job, she really did. Working with people in the little store that Old Lady Maki owned. It was an apothecary shop and also served as the 'hospital' for the little town. She really, really loved her job; she just wished it was a larger town. The herbal remedies that Ren made for the store were so successful that the entire town plus people who lived in the outskirts came only to them. The whole whopping hundred or so people that lived around here. The remedies were so effective that people were in good health. Coupled with the fact that the inhabitants were naturally healthy it made business very slow. It got lonely at times.

The ringing of the bell on the desk shook her from her thoughts. With the grace someone her age rarely has, she made her way to her feet. She made her way out to the store front but stopped dead in the doorway. Standing anxiously on the other side of the desk were five men. No, five gorgeous men. They hadn't seemed to notice her yet so she took the time to survey the men.

The one standing closest to the desk stood about 6'2" with long brown hair. Ren didn't quite know what to make of the air of superiority he gave off. She then turned to observe the blonde of the group. With tanned skin and bright blue eyes, she started to feel a blush spreading across her cheeks. Another one then caught her attention. She stared at the third man with something akin to awe. _He is drop dead gorgeous. _She thought to herself. Until she noticed that he was being held up by two men. _Wow, he just puts them all to shame._ She thought.

"Hey you, can you help my friend?" the blonde man asked her. Rather loudly too.

"Um… yes, I can…" she said quickly, finding it hard to breathe. "What happened?"

"There was a bit of an accident." Said the man with sunglasses evasively.

Ren raised her eyebrow at the obvious evasion to the question. But who was she to invade other people's privacy. "Ok, I'll try, come into the back. That's where all of the patients stay."

As they all followed her into the back room she couldn't help but wonder about her new guests. Or more importantly, what they weren't telling her.

.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

"Get off of me!!!"

"Hold still!"

"That hurts!"

"If you would hold still maybe it wouldn't hurt as much!" Ren yelled at her pig headed patient. She had never before yelled at a patient. But this one… this one was just so _irritating!_

Sasuke glared at her as she came near him with another cotton ball. He hates any thing that is even close to a hospital and anyone who is a doctor. It also doesn't help _at all_ that he's attracted to the witch. When he first saw her he felt like he had just been punched in the stomach. Her beautiful heart shaped face with long flowing raven colored hair and large, expressive cobalt blue eyes. She was breathtakingly beautiful. She has a perfect hourglass figure, he could tell. If only she would loose her big, bulky jacket. When she spoke it was like music. He had fallen, and fallen hard for her. But he'd be damned if he let her know. More importantly let the dobe know.

That was before she started to rub cotton balls with alcohol on his open wounds. Every time he moved away she would just keep coming! He had had enough after she had fallen and elbowed him in the groin, the _first_ time!

"If…you don't… stop moving…" she whispered slowly while trying to reach the arm he had suspended in mid air on the opposite side of the bed.

_I'm done._ She thought finally. She lifted her leg with the intention of climbing into and over the bed. Unfortunately this was the time that the other four decided to see what was going on. They walked in to find Ren straddling Sasuke who was shirtless.

"Way to go Sasuke!" Naruto cheered to him while giving him thumbs up, Kiba had taken to whistling.

Ren's face began turning a bright red as she turned to look at the obnoxious blonde. "I'm done. Get out, all of you." She said with finality as she got off of Sasuke and began to leave the room.

"Hey, where are you going? You said you would treat my friend!" Naruto called after her.

She spun around to look at the man and found him staring down his nose at her. Ren stood up tall and narrowed her eyes back on him. Ren took one haughty look down her nose at him, no small feat since she was shorter than he, and spoke with barely constrained anger. "Actually, I said I would try. I tried to help him. But he doesn't want to be helped. Then I have to listen to you and dog boy over there. It's insulting you obnoxious ass!"

Naruto took a step back at her sudden burst of anger. He brought his hand up to ruffle his hair as he watched her spin around and take off down the hallway.

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Plz REVIEW. I love constructive criticism. It gives ideas…


	3. Apologies

Ren winced as her door was slammed against the wall, announcing the arrival of one very unwelcome guest. Himoro Maki, the violent ogre that Old Lady Maki was unfortunate enough to call a husband. He was probably here to chew her out for her outrageous behavior before. Well, she wasn't sorry. That Naruto jerk was asking for it and she was willing to give it. If only she wasn't the one to pay the price.

Himoro stood in the open doorway, glaring daggers at Ren. With fast and furious strides he was suddenly standing next to her, with one fat fist wrapped in her hair.

"How _dare_ you act that way to paying customers!" he whispered furiously in her ear, "you ungrateful retched _mutant!_"

Oh yes, always quiet. God forbid we let _anyone_ know that nice, quiet, gentle 'Old Man Maki' was anything but nice and gentle. Ren glared up at him with obvious hatred. To her, he looked like a pug, but with the body of a gorilla. Big, fat, ugly, and hairy could be words used to describe him, and he was her 'father'. The thought alone made her want to puke. '_Some father…'_ she thought vehemently. Or at least he had been for as long as she could remember. Old Lady Maki, who back then only went by Hama, had found her washed up on the shore of the river a few miles outside of the town they used to live in.

They had never had a child of their own, but not for the lack of trying. When Hama had found her she had immediately taken her in. Clothed her, fed her, and loved her. She had been raised as the child they never had. They were in their fifties when they took her in. everything was perfect for the longest time. She was loved whole heartedly by Hama and to a point by Himoro. Well, loved by him as long as she always wore her contacts… Mutant, that's what he called her when she didn't, even when she did the word still 'slipped out'.

She never knew why he hated her eyes. She loved them, she thought they were pretty. She couldn't remember anything from before Hama had found her, but her eyes, they were unique. When she was little she would always draw what she thought her parents would look like. She would always draw them with eyes like hers. Himoro would burn the pictures and laugh and say she was probably thrown in the river _because_ of her eyes.

"Are you listening to me girl?" Himoro said as he shook her, pulling at the hair he still had wrapped around his fat fist.

Ren glared up at him. "Of course I'm listening, _daddy_." She said in a sickly sweet voice.

This, of course, just seemed to infuriate him further. "Hama should have just let you drown. But _noooo_… she had to be her usual self and be _kind_… You're just a monster who wrecks everything!" With that he turned on his heel and stormed out of the room.

Ren closed her eyes and sighed as she went back to what she had been doing before the hulking ox had disturbed her. Peering out her window that overlooked the rainy and miserable town they now lived in. She thought back, back to the good days. The days before she had ruined everything for her small family.

She had been twelve years old. One day during lunch time out in the schoolyard one of the boys in her class had been picking on her because she had 'developed' a bit earlier than the other girls. It was while picking on her that he noticed one of her contacts had fallen out due to her crying. He had meant to give it back, but was frightened when he saw what the contacts were originally hiding.

Her eyes, her beautiful white eyes, with just a hint of lavender. It was unlike anything the townspeople had ever seen. Usually what is different or 'not normal' is discriminated against. Himoro was furious when he found out what had happened, and he let her know it. With others though, he played his part, until they started to exclude him and blame him for bringing 'the thing' into their town. He lost every friend he ever had in that town, and so did she.

The discrimination got so bad they packed up everything they owned and moved across the entire earth country. Himoro hated living in the north, right on the border of earth and fire countries. He was always complaining, like how it was constantly cold and raining. It was a small town. People were very conservative. People were _boring_. But it could be worse. They could be sending death threats, egging the house, or just ruining their lives.

Hama never said anything, would never say anything. She was just too kind hearted to be mean. But Ren knew that Hama hated it here. Although Ren can have backbone of steel at times, she is generally a selfless person. Hama was in her seventies, and constant cold and rain hurt her. But Hama always put family before herself.

'One day, we will leave this crummy little town. We'll be in a larger village where the sun is always shining. I'll put a bet on it.' Ren thought as she stood and swept out of her room.

"Time to go apologize to the 'paying customers'."

.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

As Ren entered the med room the five men turned to watch her. She paused in the doorway only for a moment before continuing on to stop at the foot of the bed that held the man introduced only as Sasuke. 'I never did get any last names…' she thought.

"I apologize for my rudeness before. I shouldn't have yelled at you… Naruto," she said, having to pause to try and remember the name. "Or called you a dog, Kiba. I also should have been gentler with you Sasuke."

"It's fine… Ren, right? We shouldn't have done what we did either. Both are at fault." Neji replied eloquently, his brown contact covered eyes showing sincerity. He had taken a peek with his byakugan and had seen what had happened with her 'father'. He was quite curious as to why she had been termed a _mutant_, and to find out why, he needed her not to hate his guts.

"You all should probably leave while I finish tending Sasuke's wounds." She gave them a blinding smile to show she forgave them.

.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

All was well as Ren readied herself for bed that night. She had apologized to the guests and Himoro was off her back, for now. She had made friends with the five men. Well with Naruto, Kiba and Neji anyway. She wasn't sure about Shino; he spent the entire time staring at the bug she had squished. Sasuke was just a plain _no_. 'He is still an ass.' She thought to herself, smiling anyway. Hama is in bed resting. Himoro is knocked out on the couch, with a little help from the sleeping meds she spiked his drink with. 'He'll sleep like a bear in hibernation.' She thought with a wicked grin.

It had been a relatively good day, if only everyday could end on a good note.

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**CHAPTER 3: END**

**How did you like it?**

**Anyway here is the rundown.**

**Hinata was kidnapped when she was 3 (by who…even I don't know yet, and no it's not the Cloud)**

**Neji was wearing contacts because he was still on a mission in a foreign country.**

**They gave only their first names to Ren, last names tell so much, like who should be in the country and who shouldn't.**

**As always I LOVE REVIEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**

**They make me happy…**


	4. Mistakes Made

*CRASH*

"Damn it!"

Sasuke was jolted out of his dreams. He rose from his temporary bed in the med room and groggily stumbled his way toward the source of the noise. In the kitchen he found Ren, standing in front of the open refrigerator, a broken jar of pickles was lying at her feet. He remained in the doorway, hidden in shadow, watching as she hopped her way over to the sink to fetch a rag. He noticed one of her feet were bloody, with a shard of glass sticking out of the bottom. She leaned against the sink, her head down and her foot balancing on the opposite knee. He saw her body stiffen when she pulled out the shard and quickly press a rag to the cut. His eyes widened as he saw her begin heading toward her mess.

Sasuke scoffed as he made his presence known. "If you get pickle juice in that cut it's going to hurt like hell." He said suddenly, watching as she jumped startled by his sudden appearance. '_Obviously she didn't know I was here'_ he thought, unable to keep the smirk off his face. He watched with amusement as she wrapped her arms around herself, and the flimsy material of her nightgown. Unknown to her that her current position created the most alluring silhouette with the refrigerator light shining behind her.

She stumbled back and closed the door, plunging the room into darkness. _'Himoro will have a fit if we have to move again'_ she thought nervously. She was perfectly capable of navigating her way in the dark thanks to her eyes. But no one was allowed to know that, not even her family. They just thought it was a birth defect.

She watched as her 'guest' came toward her. She took a step back as he kept coming, like an animal stalking its prey. Before she knew what had happened her foot was burning…

"OH MY GOD! OWWWWW!" She howled in pain. She leapt toward the sink, but slipped on the cheap rug in front of it. She reached out to grab something to steady herself; unfortunately the closest thing was Sasuke, who had rushed forward when she began screaming. She grabbed at the hem of his shirt, taking him down with her.

Lying there on the floor, she felt as if she was going to suffocate. Sasuke was lying on top of her, too much weight for her tiny body to handle. At five-foot you'd be surprised at what she could take, but he was not one of them.

Sasuke slowly lifted himself off of her, clutching his ribs as he did so. He was not surprised to feel blood soaking through his shirt. He leaned on the counter to steady himself as he began to feel dizzy. When that cleared he glanced down to see Ren at his feet, on her hands and knees, gulping in air as if she had gone at least a hundred years without it.

"Oh My God! You have got to weigh as much as a fucking elephant!" she gasped out when she got her breathing under control.

He glared at her, uncertain why her statement bothered him so much. He was used to women throwing themselves at him, figuratively and literally. Yet here she was _complaining_ that he was on top of her! His Uchiha pride was now very bruised. He was going to give her a piece of his mind… until she lifted her head to stare up at him…

"You're a Hyuga!"

"A… what?"

"A Hyuga." He sneered, making it sound as if only an idiot wouldn't know.

This proved to raise her hackles greatly. She did **not** like feeling like an idiot. She scowled up at him and ground out, "I know that, thank you oh so very kindly."

Up went the perfectly shaped eye brow. "Oh you do, do you?"

"Of course!" she said with a 'matter of fact' voice.

"Well that's handy… because I've… forgotten…" he whispered as he pulled her up from the floor to whisper in her ear. "Why don't you… jog my memory…?"

"I do not answer to you!"

His hold on her arm tightened painfully. She winced as she tried to extricate herself from his grasp, only making him squeeze tighter. She gazed up into his eyes with fear, his… red… moving eyes. Three comma-like shapes were rapidly spinning around his pupil, making her… very… tired.

Without thinking, she brought her free hand back, and then flung it forward with all of her strength. Her eyes widened as she felt her fist bury itself into Sasuke's abdomen. More importantly, his already open and bleeding wound.

Sasuke quickly released his hold on her, grabbing for his abdomen instead. She ran out of the kitchen and into the med room. She searched for the correct syringe, running quickly back to the kitchen. She jammed it into Sasuke's neck, who was lying in the middle of the kitchen floor in a massive puddle of his own blood. She saw his fury filled eyes change from the frightening blood red back into the pure onyx that they normally are. Slowly, Sasuke's eyelids began to droop, finally closing as he drifted into unconsciousness.

.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

"Hello Ren!" Naruto yelled cheerfully in greeting, his eyes sparkling and an enormous smile plastered to his face.

Neji just rolled his eyes, wanting to skip right to the point. "How is Sasuke doing this morning?"

"His recovery is being delayed for a while…" She paused; schooling her facial features, refusing to convey any of the guilt was racked with. "He really pushed it yesterday and wound up pulling his stitches and making the whole thing worse."

"What!? Ugh! Leave it to Mr. Perfect…" Kiba griped, rolling his eyes. Obviously anxious to return home. His teammates knew he had left Akamaru, his dog, with his veterinarian sister after Akamaru had been injured on their last mission. Inuzuka's do not do well being separated from their canine companions for extended periods of time.

She led the way into the med room, glancing at her 'patient'. He was lying on the bed, hooked up to feeding tubes so he wouldn't die from the deep sleep she had put him in.

Ren smiled tightly, "I have to keep him sedated, because of the pain…"

Neji scoffed, "Wake the baby up. He has a high tolerance, besides we need to speak with him." He motioned for Naruto to wake him up.

Ren's eyes widened as she leapt into Naruto's path, thinking quickly. "No! You can't wake him up! He is very injured and in a lot of pain! No normal man can with stand that! It would be torture to wake him up now!" She mentally patted herself on the back for her quick lie.

Neji and Naruto took a step back from the fuming woman. Obviously both were not quite used to being reprimanded, much less by someone who looked like a pixie. In the corner, unseen by anyone, Shino frowned. _'She reacted much too quickly…and her body language doesn't match up with her words.'_ He glanced at Neji, who obviously didn't notice the inconsistency. Quiet and conservative, he decided to keep a closer eye on their little doctor.

.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

Ren waited anxiously for the rest of her small family to arrive in the kitchen. She had called a family meeting. _'Time to tell them I screwed it up again…'_

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**YAY!!!!**

**Chapter 4 is done!!!!**

**It was a long one to write…**

**Thank you to all who have read my story, I hope you liked it so far…**

**An even bigger thanks to all who have sent me reviews. I love reviews…**

**NEXT CHAPTER:**

**We finally get to meet HAMA!!!!!!**

**STAY TUNED**


	5. Plans of Action

Hamas smile came quickly, naturally, as she gazed at her daughter. Her beautiful breath of life. Her smile slowly faded as she saw the glum and guilty expression on Ren's face. Hama sat down at the kitchen table and waited for her husband to arrive for the family meeting.

.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

Himoro walked into the kitchen to see his family sitting morosely in their small kitchen. Hama looked up at him with worried eyes. Ren looked at anything but him. She didn't like him, he knew that. He also knew that it was his fault. He had done many things in his life that he regretted. But she was his biggest regret. Those eyes, those damn Hyuga eyes. The Byakugan.

Hama never knew, but he knew. He had researched thoroughly after Hama had brought her into their home. Ren was the missing child. The Hyuga child that had been taken from her home in the Hidden Leaf Village. It was obvious from the condition that Hama found her in that she had survived the unimaginable. Ren was so bloody and beaten and bruised. It was obvious she wasn't supposed to have survived at all.

Her family, her village, hell… everyone thought she was dead. He would let them go on thinking that. If the world knew that she was alive, whoever had taken her in the first place would come for her again. Ren was _his_ daughter. She never knew it, or maybe she did, but he loved her, and he would never let anyone take her away.

She had never seen what was truly going on in their old town. How he had fought tooth and nail to protect her. Not just from others, but from her self. If she knew what she truly was… she would try to find the rest of her family. She would expose herself, her weakness, to all who would harm her.

She was so gentle. Too gentle, like Hama. She needed to become stronger, mentally and physically, or she would never survive in this world. He should know, having survived the last Great Ninja War, and as a shin obi too. Then becoming a rouge ninja. He had loved, no, _still_ loves his old village. But he loves Hama more, who had been a prisoner of war that had been captured when her village had been raided. Her family had been killed, and he had been ordered to _interrogate _her. He couldn't.

He'd had a long, hard life. He did _NOT_ want Ren to suffer as he had. He had protected her from the time she was a toddler, he was _still_ protecting her. She was a magnet for trouble though. He had never met _anyone_ as mischievous and accident prone as she had been when she was younger. It just got worse over the years. _'Maybe I protected her too much, never let her learn from the mistakes…' _he thought to himself, finally stepping away from the doorway. A serious expression adorned his face as he took a seat at the table.

"What did you do?"

.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

"_What did you do?"_

She sat up stiffly, raising herself as high as she could while still sitting. His voice grated her nerves. So cocky, so _condescending!_ How dare him! The gall! Immediately thinking that _she_ had done something! It wasn't her fault they had to move! Again! If he hadn't forced her to apologize in the first place Sasuke wouldn't have even been here last night! Then he wouldn't have seen her eyes! She wouldn't have had to drug him to keep him from talking! She wouldn't be feeling so damn guilty! Yeah! It was all Himoro's fault! Maybe if she said it enough times… maybe even she would start to believe it.

She crossed her arms across her ample chest and sneered at him, "Why would you immediately come to the conclusion that _I_ did something?"

He raised his eye brow, knowing just by her reaction that he had hit the nail on the head. When ever she felt she that had been backed into a corner she had always unsheathed her verbal claws and struck at anyone who crossed her path. She may be sweet and gentle and be slow to heat up, but when she reaches her limit, she has a temper that no one wants directed at them.

When Ren was in a black mood, no one escaped, and no one was immune. She had the wit and the verbal skills to lacerate anyone who was in range. Hama had found that out long ago that the perfect remedy was to just ignore Ren, which then drove Ren mad with vexation. He had tried it once, but he just didn't have the patience or the tolerance to withstand it.

Hama butted in, attempting to play referee. "Sweetheart, it's written all over your face…"

Himoro snorted. "Now, what did you do?"

Ren stared at her hands, then out the window, then at the clock. Any where but the faces of her parents. She resisted the urge to tap her pointer fingers together, an old nervous habit that Himoro had broken her of long ago. Instead she clasped them together and placed them in her lap.

"We have to move again…"

Himoro closed his eyes and sighed with evident disappointment, if it was with just her or just the thought of leaving or both, she didn't know. She took a moment to study him further. He looked weary… and old. She was startled to realize that she hadn't noticed before. He looked so much older than he did in her memories. He was rounder, for sure. His hair, or what was left of it, was pure gray. His face had definitely added more wrinkles to the mix. For the first time, he actually looked his age. His emotions usually overwhelmed the others until they couldn't actually see _him_; they could only see his mood.

She turned to study her mother now. Hama had aged much more gracefully, that was for sure. Where Himoro was rotund and built like an ox, Hama was willowy and beautiful. You could definitely tell that she had been gorgeous when she was younger. But she too was looking older. She was plumper than she had been, but her eyes remained the same, unchangeable. Deep, dark brown eyes that just oozed kindness. She had a shock of snowy white hair that was swept up into an elegant every day bun. Her whole demeanor was one of old world elegance and selflessness.

"Are you mad at me Maman?" Ren asked Hama in a worried voice.

Hama smiled, knowing her daughter so well she knew exactly what was on her mind. "Of course not, sweetheart."

"I know you weren't happy when we had to move the last time."

"The situation was a tad bit different then, Ren." Himoro added dryly. "We didn't move, we were run out of the village with barely the clothes on our backs. This time, we have time."

"Who found out?" Hama asked quietly.

"The patient, Sasuke."

"Where is he now?"

"In the med room, unconscious. I drugged him before he could tell his buddies, to buy us some time." She told them, but she refused to elaborate on the whole ordeal. Especially on what he had called her.

Himoro smiled at her, proud that she was able to do what she had to do, to protect not only the family, but herself as well. Maybe all was not hopeless after all.

Hama chuckled. "That's good, we should be able to skip town with no one the wiser." Her brown eyes widened on a thought. "Wait, I know that the villagers won't care for long, but what about that young man's friends. I think they would notice if they suddenly come over and find us gone. They might even follow."

"Oh yeah…" Ren muttered despondently. She could already imagine what they would do to them, more over _her._ They were huge! They could rip them limb from limb.

"We can't leave a man in a coma forever either…"

"Why not?" Himoro snapped suddenly. "Wouldn't bother me one bit."

Ren snorted, actually agreeing with him. But she'd be damned if she ever said that to his face. "It's unethical. Not to mention it would practically be murder."

Himoro was about to retort when Hama cleared her throat, attempting to break up the soon to be argument. "I think I know what we should do…"

.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

"Hey guys! What are you doing here this early?" Ren asked cheerily as the four men were walking up the steps to the house.

"Just checking in on Sasuke. Where are you going?" Neji asked in return, indicating the small backpacks strapped to Hama's, Himoro's and Ren's backs.

"Oh, we're heading out to a small farm on the outskirts of town. The farmers' wife is pregnant, and she fell earlier and went into premature labor."

"What about Sasuke?" Shino spoke up, his face hidden by his clothing.

"The young man in the med room? He was _still_ sleeping last time I checked." Himoro stated dryly.

"That's because I sedated him, daddy." Ren said gruffly, rolling her eyes. "I told you that when you asked before… never mind. Anyway, I was going to stop by and ask you to watch him, he should be out for quite a while. If he starts to wake up, _quickly_ sedate him again. I left the syringe on the table. We won't be back until tomorrow night, so help your selves to anything in the fridge. I also left instructions on his hourly care on the counter. Can you guys handle that?"

"Sure, I guess"

"Great! Then we will see you tomorrow."

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**Yay!!!!!!!!!!! I'm DONE.**

**That was a REALLY long chapter.**

**Or at least I thought it was…**

**Anyway…**

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	6. Possibility

Two weeks later…

"You were supposed to be back three weeks ago!" A busty blonde exclaimed as five tired and travel worn men walked sluggishly into her office.

The woman, Tsunade, was not happy, and when Tsunades' not happy, no one is. As the Fifth Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, she has a lot of responsibility, many people count on her, and the fate of many lives rest in her hands. This makes the already short fuse of her temper even shorter.

"We have been worried sick! What happened?"

"We ran into a few _minor_ difficulties." Neji told her smoothly, trying to calm her down before she did something drastic, like punch a hole in her desk. Again.

"_Minor difficulties?_ What kind of _minor difficulties?_" Shizune, the Hokage's assistant asked wearily.

Shizune had become a permanent fixture to the Hokage Tower after Tsunade had taken office. Shizune had been with Tsunade throughout all of their traveling abroad, which had started after the last Great Ninja War. Tsunade had left the village and had become a nomad after losing almost every one she had ever cared about in the war. Everyone, even the villagers, knew that if not for the dark haired assistant, nothing would ever get done. Shizune held every thing together, including the Hokage, and tried to keep everything on time, but with Tsunade, that's easier said than done.

Sasuke remained where he was, not wanting to join the others in the mission briefing. He leaned against the wall in the corner, partially hidden by shadows. If one was to look closely, ok you didn't even have to look that closely to be able to tell by his stiff and ridged posture that he was _mad._ No… not just mad. He was rip-out-your-throat-ask-questions-later _furious._

Drugged! He had been drugged! How dare that _evil_ little… little…_ pixie!_ He was a shinobi! A killer! An Uchiha! He had taken down Orochimaru, _and_ his own brother, Itachi Uchiha! He did _not_ suffer through the shear torture of coming back to the Leaf village, having to prove to every one that he wasn't mentally, physically or psychologically damaged! Spent so much time proving he could be trusted! He did not work his ass off climbing his way up from lower than slime, up to an ANBU black ops agent, only to be taken down by some _'little girl'_!

As Sasuke continued his ranting in the privacy of his mind, Neji was finishing giving the oral mission report to the Hokage. He left out only the parts of how and _why_ Sasuke had been drugged and _why_ the Maki family had taken off. Even he didn't have those answers. Sasuke had been very tight lipped on the road home. Whenever asked he would only say _"It's sensitive information. Wait until we reach the safety of the village."_

Tsunade was greatly troubled by the disappearance of the family, but she did find humor in the fact that someone had been able to slip under the Uchihas' defenses to the extent of being able to put him into a coma. But that also scared the crap out of her.

She said nothing to give away her thoughts, and said instead, "What I want to know is why this… Ren, drugged you in the first place, Sasuke. Did you blow your cover? Because if I have to explain why the Leaf Village had unauthorized ANBU agents on Stone Country soil, your ass is _mine._"

Sasuke snorted, barely restraining his outrage at the accusation. "I did _not _blow my cover! But I did blow _hers_!"

"What?" Shizune asked, her eyes going wide.

"It would have been nice to know that you had other agents stationed in that area." He continued, ignoring the interruption.

"What are you talking about, Uchiha?" Tsunade asked angrily… and confused.

Sasuke scowled at the women. He did not like little political games. He knew that the life of a ninja was all about secrets and hidden agendas, but this was just ticking him off. He pushed away from the wall and came to stand directly in front of his Hokage. He placed his hands on the desk and leaned forward until he was barely a hairs width away from her face.

He looked her straight in the eyes and said, "I'm talking about the Hyuga that was stationed in the small village on the northern border."

"We don't have _any _agent stationed in the Stone Country, _at all._" Tsunade ground out through clenched teeth.

He took a step back, not quite knowing what was going on anymore. He had seen it himself. She was telling the truth. Her body language and her eyes confirmed her words. She had no clue that there was a Hyuga in Iwa.

"How is that possible?" This came from Naruto, who looked like he was in pain from thinking too hard. "I thought all Hyugas remain in the village unless they are shinobi, and that if they are shinobi, I thought they are sealed?"

"That's true. She didn't have a mark, and she wasn't using a genjutsu. I would have seen through it. But she couldn't have been a Hyuga. The main house would never let one of their own go for such a long mission. That was also the first time I had ever met that woman." Neji added, deeply disturbed by the turn of events.

"Is she a rogue?" Kiba asked solemnly.

"She couldn't be. No one fitting her description has turned rogue. At leas from the files that I've read recently." Shizune said.

Shino, who had been quietly observing, decided to add to the conversation. "Could she be a mistake baby? Maybe while on a mission a Hyuga conceived her, and then unknowingly left her behind?"

"No that wouldn't work either." Neji said matter-of-factly.

"Why not?" Kiba asked, now confused.

"Because, have you seen my clan? We don't do _anything_ against the rules or regulations. The price is too high." Neji reminded them, pointing at his head. "Conceiving a child during a mission is definitely against mission protocol."

"That doesn't matter! It could still have happened!" Kiba argued vehemently.

Sensing that all hell was about to break loose, Tsunade reluctantly intervened. No matter how entertaining it might have been, she was still Hokage, and that meant maintaining order.

"Never mind! We will figure out who to blame later! What I _need_ to know now is, if she is a threat to the safety of our village?"

Shizune looked at her mistress in shock. "How can you even ask that? It's obvious she is! She put Sasuke into a coma!"

"She was scared; maybe it was to protect herself." Tsunade said, looking at Sasuke for clarification.

Sasuke finally spoke up. "She had no idea what I was talking about when I called her a Hyuga."

"You didn't answer my question. Is she, or is she not, a threat to our village."

"I'm not really sure… my personal opinion is that she is not a threat to the _village_. I do think she is more of a threat to herself than even she realizes."

.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

As the rain fell against the tiles of the roof it made quiet little pitter-patter sounds. The only sound. The roomed dubbed the _study_ was silent. Old, dusty books lined the walls in overflowing bookshelves. If one wanted to get technical, one could call the room a library. But the proper _library_ was on the other side of the compound. The room itself was a very warm and welcoming place. But not now. The lone man sitting behind the desk in the center of the room gazed out the large window that was directly behind him. The window overlooked an equally quiet garden. An abandoned garden that was over grown with weeds and grass. _'What a dreary day…'_ the man thought to himself.

He hated days like this. They brought back painful memories that are better left buried. This was the mans usual routine for rainy days such as this. Sitting alone in his study, reminiscing on days passed. Every one knew that on such days, it was best to not disturb him. For it had been a day, very much like this one, that he had first met her. That peaceful rainy day that she had entered the world.

As lime passes, pain fades. Wounds of the flesh heal with almost no trace that there had ever been a wound in the first place. But wounds of the heart never fully heal. Time dulls the pain, but never truly erases it. It gets a bit more bearable, until something forces you to remember in vivid detail, starting the process all over. A vicious cycle that only dies when you do.

On better days, days where the sun was shining, he used to sit here. He would glance up from his work and see _her_, out in the garden, usually knee deep in the mud. He smiled wistfully at the long lost memories. She was a child of the earth. She had always loved playing in the dirt, caring for her flowers. It was _her_ garden, and it always would be. He had given it to her so he could keep a close eye on her. She was so gentle, so sweet. But she was also curious, and mischievous. One had to keep a very watchful eye out for her.

He sighed sadly, knowing his wife was doing the same thing as he was. Except she spent her days in the room. _Her_ room. It had been cleaned, all signs of damage and disturbance erased. It looked like she had only left for a little while. Gone on vacation, waiting for her to come back.

But she never would.

He activated his eyes, seeing exactly what he knew he would see. His wife, Lady Hinako, was sitting on the edge of the bed, gazing out the little window toward the direction of the compound gates. In her arms she held a toy, a little stuffed bear. It was a polar bear; its fur had a slight lilac hue. Just like her eyes.

Without moving his head, the man turned his gaze to the room next door. Life had gone on. Hanabi had been born about two years after the incident. As a young child, Hanabi had never understood her parents' fixation on a person she had never met. She didn't understand why the door to that room always remained locked, why she wasn't allowed to enter. As she grew older she began to understand. She had even told them once how she wished that she had been able to meet her, even if only once. He wished Hanabi had been able to know her, too. Hanabi was almost sixteen. Hanabi looked more like him than her mother.

Hiashi deactivated his eyes and returned his gaze to the rain soaked garden. _She _had looked more like her mother, but somehow, _more_ than her mother. But she had also had him in her too. Their child. Their miracle child, who wasn't supposed to have been possible, the doctors said she shouldn't have survived her first week. She had been a fighter. She had had a natural beauty, a natural grace that wasn't normal for someone that young. She would have been able to stop men in their tracks. He had always complained about that. But not any more. She would have been turning twenty one. Hinata could have been so many things.

'_What a dreary day, indeed…' _

.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

As Neji walked home, he reflected back to the meeting in the Hokage Tower. He had not been expecting _that_. He'd been completely blindsided!

A Hyuga! Imagine that! To add to it, she had been living outside of the family compound! Outside of the village, and no one had even known she existed! Or did they…? Nahhh. There would have been some record, and Tsunade would have known.

As he walked into his home he saw his mother and father sitting at the kitchen table, hunched over a book that they were reading together. He had absolutely no idea how they could do this. It would get on his nerves fast; it annoyed him to have anyone reading over his shoulder. But his parents loved spending time together. He said hello to his parents and in return he got smiles and 'How was your mission's. He politely spoke with them for a while then continued his way up to his room.

His father was Hizashi Hyuga, the twin brother of the clan head, Hiashi Hyuga. Although they are twins, only one could lead the clan while the other was banished to lead the branch family. His father led the branch family. But Hizashi didn't mind anymore. He did at first, but he just buried himself in the love of his small family. The only reason Hizashi had ever had a problem with his lot in life was because of the curse mark, which pretty much makes the wearer a slave to the main family.

That brought it back. Ren didn't have a curse mark. Hiashi had never let any branch family member get away with not having it. Hiashi had brought the divisions of the clan together, made the tensions between the two a little more bearable, but the clan was still divided.

Neji was well and truly stumped. Ren wasn't a branch member, and she _couldn't _be a main house member. The only people born to the main family or to the entire main house in the last twenty five years were Hanabi… and… Hinata…

Neji froze at that thought, not even caring that he was blocking the hall way in the main house section of the compound. He had just finished a mission, which meant a visit to his _dear_ uncle. Lord Hiashi wanted to be informed of every mission, as was protocol.

Neji blinked a few times, his brain beginning to function again. Without realizing it he spoke aloud.

"There's no way… she couldn't possibly be…"

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**All done with chapter 6!!!!!!!!!!!**

**I hope you liked it…**

**By the way, the reason Hiashi is so **_**kind**_** in his memories of Hinata is because Hinako wasn't supposed to be able to have children. I also want to establish just how much of an impact she made on their lives just by being there and then with her disappearance.**

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	7. Strange Occurances

"_There's no way… She couldn't possibly be…"_

"Who couldn't possibly be?"

Neji went stiff at the sound of the voice, not realizing that he had spoken aloud. He looked around to find the owner of the voice… Hanabi.

"Nothing, Hanabi."

"Oh come on! Don't be that way!" she said as she ran to catch up to him, fore he had started to walk away. "You can tell me!"

Neji stopped again, causing Hanabi to bump into him. He turned and looked down at her, "No I can't, classified information, ANBU, you know. Information that you are not privy to."

She sneered up at him, "You don't have to be snotty…"

"Don't you have something to do, other people to annoy?"

Hanabi was quiet for a moment, like she was deep in thought. "Nope!"

"Where's your mother?" Neji asked, just wanting her to leave him alone.

Hanabi sighed and looked down at the floor. "It's raining."

Neji recoiled as if he'd been slapped. Well he felt like scum now… like a complete and utter cad. He hadn't even noticed the rain on his walk up here. He now understood why she was so interested in what he was doing. Not that she normally wasn't. Unlike him, Hanabi had never had anyone her age to really play with when she was younger. He grew up in the branch house, where there were always other kids to play with. Hanabi and her sister had been the only children born into the main house in about twenty five years. But, because there fathers were twins, and heads of their respective houses', he and Hanabi were often each others company during the long meetings. Although not to the point of best friends. After all, Hanabi was six years his junior. Their relation ship consisted of love, hate, and extreme annoyance. It was one of a brother with an irritating little sister. Their parents never yelled at him for his treatment of Hanabi though, they even understood a little. After all, Hanabi had practically been his shadow for the longest time.

Hanabi was like his little sister, but she wasn't, could never be what Hinata was to him. Hinata had been his best friend, would always be his best friend. They had understood each other from the start. He wished she could have been here…

Wait… it could still happen. _If_ Ren was Hinata. But he couldn't tell Hanabi, couldn't tell his aunt or uncle, or anyone for that matter. Not yet, anyway. Not until he knew for sure. What he did know was that he had to find Ren. To do that, he needed to speak to the Hokage, alone. Shizune would be the rational one and talk the Hokage and him, out of it.

"Well… since we're both bored out of our skulls, why don't we run into town? We can have lunch at the old restaurant? My treat."

Hanabi gave him a blinding smile and ran to get her shoes.

.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

Sasuke made his way through the rain soaked village to his small apartment. After he had turned rogue to follow Orochimaru for power the village had decided to finally seize the Uchiha compound. He didn't really care that much because Sakura had saved his family house. She had fought tooth and nail to protect the house and keep anyone from moving in, the rest of the compound had been split up and sold to civilian families. He could live in the Uchiha house, but he couldn't stand to be there for long periods of time. Too many memories…

He understood now, why his brother had left him alive while he killed everyone else. It was because of the bonds they had, as brothers. He was Itachi's weak point. Itachi could kill hundreds of people, but he couldn't kill his little brother. The weird and twisted part of the whole scenario was that Itachi had done it for him. He had killed their entire family for Sasuke, because Itachi had it all planned out. He _wanted_ Sasuke to kill him. He was always the obstacle that stood in Sasuke's way. The obstacle that Sasuke could never pass. The point that Sasuke was always compared to. When Sasuke had finally killed Itachi, he had broken every preconceived expectation that people had labeled him with.

Even though it was how Itachi had wanted it, it still didn't help to heal the broken heart, or the guilt ridden conscience that Sasuke suffered. Naruto tried to help. Naruto helped to fill the void of loneliness, and Sasuke filled Naruto's need for family. They were brothers. Not by blood, but brothers none the less.

He finally arrived at his shabby little apartment. He unlocked the door and made his way inside.

.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

"Thanks for taking me out to eat, Neji."

"No problem, Hanabi."

"It was nice, kinda like old time. I never see you anymore since you became a… you know." Hanabi said, almost forgetting that she wasn't allowed to say that he was an ANBU. Actually she wasn't even supposed to _know._ "I have to go; Sensei wants the team to meet at 4:00."

"Bye."

Neji waved as he watched Hanabi disappear down the street, purposely jumping in any puddle she could in the process. He turned and began walking in the opposite direction, toward the Hokage tower. His expression grew cold and he became stiff. What could he possibly say to convince the Hokage to let him go and search for Ren?

.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

Tsunade was currently sitting alone in her quiet office, reading, or trying to read the long mission report. Unfortunately it wasn't going too well, she would read one line, and then completely forget what she had just read. Her thoughts were somewhere else entirely. What was she going to do? What was the council going to say?

Tsunade scowled at the mere thought of those pompous windbags. _Damn_, did she hate those old bats. All they did was sit in their plush offices and criticize every move that she made, and _pretend_ to know what was best for the people of the village. They rarely ever talked with, much less understood what the people wanted. When they talked to people it was all about _them_, not the other person. They barely even cared about civilian matters; all they cared about were the shinobi.

It was true that the shinobi were very important to the village. They protected the village, worked to repair things, and brought in commissions. But the civilians were an equally important part; they're the foundation of the village. The families of the shinobi. Tsunade sighed as she recalled the unpleasant memories of the last very long and very difficult week. The raids on the supply carts, the whispers of conspiracies _within_ the Hokage's own organization. Then there were the strange disappearances! People were disappearing out of their homes in the middle of the night. When people went in to check to see if everything was alright, total destruction met their eyes! The doors were hanging off the hinges, sofa's had their stuffing ripped out and thrown around the rooms, furniture was upturned and broken. Such destruction and no one had heard a thing! People were scared. Rumors had started to spread like wild fire that the Hokage and the shinobi were behind it all, because every one who had disappeared had been a civilian. Until Thursday, when Hito Mato had been taken. He had been one of her best chinning, about to make jonin. The abductions were so random, absolutely no method or systematic approach. No common variables between the victims.

A short knock at the door startled her out of her inner ramblings. Welcoming the distraction she yelled out for the person to enter. The welcoming feeling quickly dissipated when Neji Hyuga walked through the door.

"May I have a word with you, Lady Hokage?"

"Sure…" said Tsunade, noncommittally. She did not like that look on his face… he wanted something. He knew how to control his face into not giving away his emotions, and yet he dropped his defenses. Why?

She waved a hand toward the empty chair in front of her desk and he shuffled forward and quickly sat down. He was nervous… but he had a plan. He had the setting; he made it _look_ like he was nervous… now all he needed was the words. How do you tell someone that someone who you thought had been dead for over seventeen years might still be alive?

"What do you want, Hyuga?" Tsunade snapped, not in the mood to wait.

Neji took a deep breath and began, "Lady Tsunade, I would like you to make it a mission of extreme importance to find Ren Maki."

Well, she certainly was not expecting that… "Why?"

"Because I think she might be…" he paused, suddenly unsure as to whether he should be completely up front and honest on the subject. In case his suspicions got back to his uncle. "I think she might be Hinata Hyuga."

Tsunade just gave him a look of pure confusion. "Just _who_ the hell is Hiyana Hyuga?"

He heaved a great sigh and rubbed at the corners of his eyes. He could have just kicked himself! How could he be so stupid? Of course she wouldn't know how important this was. Tsunade wasn't there! Wasn't even in the country! She probably had never even been told.

"_Hinata_ was my cousin. She was abducted when she was three years old, no one ever found any trace as to if she lived, or died."

"Okay…" said Tsunade, still not seeing as to what he was getting at. He probably had many cousins, but they all had seals. Ren didn't. A lost child was always sad, but there was no way that Ren could be this Hinata.

"She was taken from the fully guarded Hyuga compound in the middle of the night." He added, seeing that she didn't believe that Ren could be Hinata. He needed a different strategy.

She was interested, she had to admit, but still not convinced. But she did get a bit of pleasure in the thought that the Hyuga's were not perfect, but it was sad that it was at the expense of a child.

"No one even knew she was gone until morning. No one… not even the guards at the village gates, where it has been proven that that was where the intruder escaped with her. Drops of her blood were discovered outside the wall." He continued.

She was more interested, and a bit uneasy. The intruder got in _and_ out of the village without raising an alarm? _While_ carrying an injured child?

Neji caught a short glimpse of unease in the Hokage's brown eyes; he went in for the kill. "Her room was almost completely destroyed, but no one heard a thing. Not a single sound."

Now she was just perturbed. This was sounding much too familiar for her likes.

"Hinata was also the first born of Lord Hiashi." Neji added quietly.

_Now_ she was just shocked. She had never heard about this. _Why_ hadn't she heard of this?

Instead of ranting on her lack of information on the subject, she said, "So your telling me that Ren Maki might be the long lost Hyuga heiress?" at Neji's nod she continued. "Does Lord Hiashi know of your suspicions?"

Neji flinched slightly, his body language telling her plain and simple that he hadn't been able to bring himself to include his uncle in this situation. Hadn't been able to raise his aunt and uncle's hopes, just incase his theory proved to be false.

"Are you going to make it a mission to find her?" he asked, hesitantly.

"Yes, she needs to be found. I'm making you captain of the squad. It will be S ranked, and _must_ remain confidential. Pick your team wisely and head out as soon as possible."

"What do we do when we find her? Am I to bring her back?"

"_If_ you find her, which I'm not sure you will, you are to bring her back here. But tell her _nothing_."

"Lady Tsunade, she won't like that. She's as stubborn as you in that respect, in a positive sense of course. She won't come blindly."

"Everyone has something… or someone that they will follow anywhere. Do what ever you need to, but she _can not_ be told. If others found out… she'd be on every bounty hunters list faster than you could say _'mine'_."

With that, Neji turned and left. Tsunade turned to look out her window and watched him walk down the rain pelted street.

'_The game has begun…"_

**-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Once again…DONE!**

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	8. KIDNAPPERS!

Sasuke liked days such as this one. It was quiet except for the pitter-patter of rain on his roof. He was home, alone, and had just finished a mission, and Naruto wasn't here to annoy him about said mission. Actually, he was a bit surprised that Naruto hadn't followed him home…

There was an insistent rapping on the door. Sasuke scowled as he put the book that he had been reading on the coffee table in front of him. He took his time getting up from the couch and made his way to the door, expecting to see Naruto on the other side. So much for a peaceful afternoon…

He was a bit surprised to see Neji, soaking wet and dripping in the hallway of his apartment building. He was even more surprised when all Neji did was toss him a scroll and say, "Pack your bags, we're going hunting."

.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

"Hisako! Can you run to the market for me?"

"Sure Maman!"

Hisako hummed quietly to herself as she picked up the wicker basket lying beside the door and began making her way down the twisting and winding road through the forest to the small village a mile away. The weather was absolutely beautiful here, balmy with a slight breeze. A tropical type region on the southern tip of the Rice Country, where the small village of Okaro was located.

Okaro was a coastal village, and Hisako and her family lived in a small cottage located on the outskirts. Their cottage was a small two bedroom home made of brick and stone, and it was in a clearing surrounded by a thick dense forest on three quarters, they were also located on the bluff. She could even see the ocean from her bedroom window. Everything here was perfect. The weather, the location and the people. The locals were happy and welcoming and, most importantly, they minded their own business for the most part.

Even Himor-er…_Eiro_ was affected by the change. He was happier, though Hisako suspected that it was just because _Kana_ was happier, and healthier. Eiro was even being nice to _her_! He had started teaching her self-defense again and complimenting her when she did it right. He hadn't insulted her for one of her rare clumsy moments or made a rude comment about her eyes, which were now a bright lime green. Although he did blame her for having to move, but it was more in an appreciative way. Hey! They were in paradise! She could gladly take the blame or the credit for that. Actually, she really had Sasuke to thank fo-

She was interrupted from her internal ramblings by a flash of silver that passed an inch away from her face. A knife! Oh man! She was still half a mile from the village, and there was no way Eiro or Kana would hear her if she screamed. It was such a nice area! No one had told her about highway robbers!

She swerved around to try to find her attackers. There! In the trees! There was a flash of red… and then… nothing…

.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

She had been a real pain to track. They had had to back track all the way back to the small town in the Stone Country and have Kiba, now reunited with his canine companion Akamaru, take a piece of clothing that she had left behind. Not that there was much left after the towns people had learned that the house was now abandoned. It looked like a tornado had gone through it.

Kiba had had a hell of a time finding her scent on the road as well, due to the fact that the trail was two and a half weeks old and the constant rain washed away almost everything. Thankfully Shino hadn't trusted her just because she was a civilian, like the rest of them had. He had put a few bugs on each member of the family, which led the four man squad in a general direction. While Shino and Kiba were doing what they do best, Sasuke had been doing what he did best, irritating the crap out of Neji. He wasn't constantly loud or obnoxious like Naruto; no he had his own special way of irritating people. He constantly paced as just made an ass out of himself with his general impatience to find the _'evil pixie'_. They were all on their very last nerves- mostly due to the fact that Neji had them on a need to know basis, which was barely any information at all except for the fact that the Hokage wanted to talk with Ren and they were not allowed to tell her anything- when, after three _long_ weeks, they found her.

She was walking down the road in the Rice Country, probably going to the market in the small village a little bit up ahead. Actually, it was completely accidental that they found her. They were following Kiba through the forest in the opposite direction when Sasuke suddenly threw a kunai in the direction of the road. Lady Luck was on their side just in the fact that she was alone, and so far away from anyone that no one would hear. While she was freaking out and looking for her attacker, Sasuke had gotten close enough to knock her out with his sharingan. Neji had seen it all through his Byakugan and had picked her up, and the five of them were ten miles away before they slowed down to camp for the night.

This was how they got to their current situation, waiting for Ren to wake up. Tsunade had said they had to get her to the Leaf Village without anyone knowing and without telling Ren anything… but kidnapping may have been a bit extreme…Oh well…

.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

'_What the hell hit me?'_

That was her firs thought when she finally fought her way into consciousness. She then began taking a quick mental list of any injuries without opening her eyes. Her arms were stiff and sore, especially her wrists, and her mouth felt like cotton… wait… it was cotton!

Her eyes snapped open. She was in a tent… she was alone… she was lying on her back, her feet pointing in the direction of the opening to the tent… her hands were tied painfully tight behind her back… her feet were also bound…_and_ to top it off… she'd been gagged! She struggled to undo the ties on her hands, which was proving to be more difficult by the minute because, one, her hands were asleep, two, she was _lying_ on them and three… it was a _really_ good knot!

She decided to move to plan B. She was attempting to slip her hands up and under her butt and then her feet, when, at that moment, someone she thought she would never see again, walked in.

.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

Sasuke entered the guest tent to find a truly… bizarre scene. There, in the middle of the tent, was their _guest_, with her legs sticking up in the air and her bound hands tucked firmly under her butt. He tore his gaze away from her alluring rear, and his gaze locked with hers. He couldn't restrain the appreciative gleam in his eyes, nor could he resist the haughty smirk that was slowly making its way across his face.

He watched as her eyes began to darken, signaling the oncoming black rage… that he was ignorant to… she gave a muffled shriek of rage through her gag… and kicked… hard.

.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

Kiba, Shino and Neji heard a noise coming from the guest tent and turned just in time to see Sasuke fall backwards out of the opening. He remained on the ground…on his knees… doubled over… his fore head pressed into the dirt… hands between his knees… holding _the_ area… gasping for air.

The three onlookers remained where they were, not moving a muscle, not wanting to help, but also not bothering to look away. After a few minutes, Sasuke was able to get his breathing under somewhat control. He lifted his head from the ground, but didn't bother to fully get up.

He looked each man square in the eye before he said in a deadly calm voice that dissuaded any argument, "This _never_ leaves this campsite."

.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

The journey back to the Leaf Village was not a pleasant one… for anybody. After the unspeakable incident in the tent, Sasuke had turned as surly as a mother bear with a new cub… minus the cub… or the motherly instincts. He refused to speak to anyone, except for Ren, the _lucky_ girl. To her, he would grunt, or tsk, or snort, or any other negative sounds he could make that were not really words or words with only one syllable. What an impressive vocabulary…

Ren, on the other hand, wouldn't shut up. She couldn't physically fight them, and she knew that, so instead, she decided to fight mentally. Mentally, meaning she annoyed the crap out of them. She insulted them about everything and complained about anything that crossed her mind. They couldn't even put the gag back in because she had _discovered_ that their orders were to bring her to the village unharmed, so when they try to put the gag in… she purposely bangs into anything to cause giant and horribly ugly welts and bruises on herself.

It was currently noon, and raining. They had crossed the border to the Fire Country the day before, and knowing that they were nearing their destination, Ren's complaining increased ten fold.

"I'M HUNGRY! AND WET! AND COLD!" She complained loudly. "You guys live in the UGLIEST fucking country I have _ever_ seen! _Who_ would ever _want_ to live here? Your _'village'_ is probably just as pitiful and revolting as the landscape!"

"Would you just shut the hell up you screaming banshee!"

Unseen by the rest of the group, Neji fought to contain the smile that was spreading across his face, but he lost that battle, pitifully. Ren and Kiba's bickering was actually very entertaining. Kiba and Ren had become verbal sparring partners on the first day of the return trip. That was two weeks ago. But she was seriously slowing them down, five rest stops- just to rest her delicate feet- and then another fourteen bathroom breaks _a day!_ The girl had the bladder the size of a squirrels'!

"Ugh! Kiba, do you even _know _what a bar of soap is? Much less _own_ one?"

"It's the scent of a real man, not that you would know! No man in their right mind would willingly come near you! You're such a priss Ren!"

"Am NOT!"

"ARE TOO!" Akamaru, at this point was feeling very left out, so he barked out his agreement, but to which side, no one knew.

Ren narrowed her eyes and gave off her most menacing glare. "Shut up you mutt!"

Akamaru growled ferociously at her and Kiba's face began turning the most impressive shade of purple. "I'll have you know that Akamaru is 100% a purebred Nin dog!"

Ren widened her eyes, perfecting her humbly innocent look. "Who said I was talking about Akamaru?"

"Kiba! Enough!" yelled Neji, before Kiba could get another word out. Kiba closed his mouth with an audible 'snap' and refused to look at either Neji or Ren.

Before Kiba had turned away though, Ren threw him a mocking grin and stuck her tongue out. Neji had been on her side of every argument from the start. He always agreed with her, even when she was wrong, and yelled at the others, even if it was for something she did to frame that person. She didn't know why she could do no wrong in his eyes, but hey, she didn't mind. What she did mind though, was how strict he was when it came to her _'safety'._

Currently the four men formed a square-ish diamond formation around her. Its purpose was as much for protection as for keeping her caged. At least they didn't tie her up and drag her along behind, she was able to walk on her own, but she couldn't be more than three feet behind Neji, who was on point. Kiba was on her left and Sasuke was on her right, and they stayed within two feet of her. Shino followed three feet behind her. The one person she really missed was Naruto, but only because he was fun to talk to and because he would have made an excellent distraction to help her escape. This was probably why he was left behind in their village.

She had already discovered that they were not _normal_. They had tried to hide it, hide where they came from. But it was just _so_ obvious that they were ninja! They had super speed, super strength and _way_ too overly developed senses. She figured that one out the hard way the first time she made an attempt at escape. When you wanted a bathroom break, if they couldn't hear you pee, they came looking.

Bathroom breaks sucked! But baths were even worse… or lack of baths. She _refused_ to take a bath while they watched, or at least when Sasuke was on guard duty. Neji and Shino at least had the decency to turn their backs and sat on the embankment. Kiba waited in a tree at least ten feet away, his back turned as well. He could do that because of his over developed senses, and the fact that Akamaru took baths with her when Kiba was guarding. That doesn't sound too bad, except that Sasuke was usually the one to guard her because Neji, Kiba and Shino actually _did_ something, like set up camp and check for enemies.

Neji could see really far, his brown eyes would get a shade lighter and veins would pop out of his face! Shino could talk to bugs, he even showed her a few… but he refused to get too physically close to her. Kiba said once to listen really hard whenever she was close to Shino, but so far she hadn't heard anything except the buzzing of the insects that were constantly swarming them. She really didn't need to know what Sasuke could do; fore she had already experienced it twice.

'_He could drop dead for all _I _care'_

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**All done with chapter 8!!!!!!!!**

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	9. Checkmate

"The gates! Thank God!" Kiba exclaimed, barely able to contain himself as he all but bounced out of his skin. His faithful companion, Akamaru, was padding along beside him, barking happily.

It was about one o'clock in the morning, and still pitch black out. The group had decided to continue on through the night, fore they weren't far and everyone was excited to be home, and sleep in a real bed. It had been three weeks since they had abducted Ren from her home in the Rice Country, and six weeks since they had last seen the Leaf Village. Everyone was excited about getting home, except for Ren, who was currently asleep, being carried piggy-back style on Sasuke's back because she had collapsed, and it was all his fault.

It had started three days ago during breakfast. All was normal, Ren was complaining about everything and insulting everyone, as usual, until Sasuke finally lost his temper and in a comment meant to wound, said she was a whining, sniveling brat and that she ate like a pig, ate as much as a cow, and looked like an elephant. She hadn't eaten a thing or said anything to any_one_ since. Needless to say everyone was pissed at Sasuke and when Ren finally collapsed from hunger, everyone decided that Sasuke would be the one to carry her the rest of the way.

Just a little farther…

.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

They all slumped into the Hokage's empty office a few hours later, dead tired, but ready to finally find out why they had been sent to fetch the girl in the first place. Sasuke stepped forward and unceremoniously dropped the still sleeping girl into the chair in front of Tsunade's vacant desk.

Ren woke up at once, and let her displeasure about the whole situation be known, loud and clear. "I want to go home!"

"Please calm down Ren." Neji said soothingly as he stepped toward her and put his hand on her shoulder, attempting to quiet her before she woke up the entire village. But inside, he was secretly pleased; at least she was speaking again.

Ignoring Neji, Ren continued ranting. "Calm down? Why should I calm down? I was _abducted _from my home! I'm in a disgusting village in a fucking horrible country where the people are barbaric and rude as hell!"

"You haven't even met anyone yet…" Kiba said confused.

"Yes I have," she said as she tossed a glare at Sasuke. "Like I said, _barbaric_."

Sasuke glared threateningly at his little _nemesis_ and was just about to make a rude comment when the door to the office was thrown open with such force that it hit the wall behind it with a loud 'thud'.

A bleary eyed Tsunade walked into the room, obviously having been woken up by a messenger from the gates. She stumbled over to her desk and practically fell into the chair behind it, all while muttering about "bratty teenagers" and "so loud they'll wake the entire village."

This was not what Ren was expecting the Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves to look or act like, which this woman had to be fore the men behind her all became silent and straightened themselves at the woman's entrance. But… this woman… she couldn't be… she was blond… and busty, to the point of comical… and young… too young. She also looked a bit hung over… some _responsible_ leader.

While Ren was surveying Tsunade, who was rummaging around in the file cabinet behind her desk oblivious to the look of disbelief and disgust on Ren's face, Neji, who was still standing behind Ren with a hand on her shoulder, was having an extreme internal battle. He hadn't been able to decide on if Ren was really Hinata yet. It could turn out very badly if she was let out in the village with the knowledge that she 'might' be the long lost heiress. If she turned out to be just a girl with mutated eyes, everyone's hoped would be crushed. He needed more time. But Tsunade didn't know that…

As it turned out, Tsunade had been having the same thoughts exactly, paired with the fact that Neji's decision could be biased because he _wants_ her to be Hinata. Tsunade needed to observe and come to her own conclusions.

"You must be Ren Maki." Tsunade said as she bulled out a brown folder from the cabinet and turned to face the girl.

You had to give the girl credit just for the fact that she wiped her face clean of all emotion and instead, replied with a cheeky remark. "Nope, damn, you must have the wrong person. I'm Hisako, Hisako Tomako."

"Right…" Tsunade said with a smile, humoring her, but not even looking at 'Hisako'. She was reading, or pretending to read the file of Hinata Hyuga that she had bribed a council member to get a hold of. She had read it cover to cover quite a few times but she was currently going over the physical description given and comparing it to the girl… it fit… almost. "Let's just cut to the chase, _Hisako_, do you know why you're here?"

"Yes."

"Really?" said Tsunade, casting a glance at Neji for confirmation, who simply rolled his eyes, telling her that Ren didn't know anything.

"Yes, I know."

"Enlighten me then…" Tsunade said in a bored tone, though her eyes said the exact opposite.

Ren gave her a suspicious glare. "You're mad because I had the _gall_ to drug one of your precious shinobi."

"You're right, but I get mad at a lot of things. So please, continue."

"You brought me here to kill me."

Tsunade just smiled, this was entertaining. This girl was such a load of crap, pretending to waltz in here all tough, thinking that they were going to kill her and pretending that she didn't care! The nerve! The guts!

"You think we're going to kill you?" At Ren's stiff nod, she continued. "Neji, are we going to kill her?"

Neji simply shrugged, and Tsunade watched as Ren sat up a bit straighter and shrugged Neji's hand off her shoulder. Ren then gave the Hokage a glare filled with contempt.

"We don't _usually_ kill civilians that have the misfortune to interrupt a mission."

"You aren't going to kill me?" Ren asked incredulously. If they didn't want to kill her why the hell did they drag her all the way her?

"No, we are not going to kill you." Tsunade said, still watching Ren's body language and facial expressions closely.

Now Ren was just getting impatient. "Then why the hell did you have your goons abduct me!?"

"Just because we aren't going to kill you doesn't mean you aren't here for a reason!" Tsunade yelled, her temper getting the best of her.

Tsunade's display of anger just seemed to increase Ren's anger, who continued with her tirade. "I'm hungry, and tired, and cold! I miss my family and I want to go home!"

"YOU'RE NOT GOING HOME!"

"I _AM_ GOING HOME! YOU CAN'T KEEP ME HERE!"

"SAY WHO?"

"SAYS YOUR OWN DAMN TREATY! I'M NOT FROM THE LEAF VILLAGE OR THE FIRE COUNTRY! YOU HAVE NO JURISDICTION OVER ME!"

Tsunade was silent for a moment. That was such a small clause in the last treaty with the Stone County… and… how the _hell_ did Ren know about it!?

Ren saw Tsunade falter and began to recite the clause verbatim. "'No_ civilian of either country shall be tried by the opposite country for a crime that they may or may not have committed, even if said crime is against said nation. Said civilian shall be tried by the country in which they live with representative from opposing nation in attendance.'_ Plus I don't think that you want the Stone Country to know that you had unauthorized shinobi in the country." Check.

Tsunade was cornered, she knew that, and so did Ren. But she'd be damned if she'd go down without a fight. "How do you know they were unauthorized?"

"It's obvious! I saw the wound, they were attacked! They wouldn't have been attacked if they had had authorization. So anyway, you can't hold me here; I'm not a citizen of the Fire Country."

Tsunade was not pleased, she'd lost… or maybe not… Shino was pointing to the map tacked to the back wall. The Rice Country? That could work… "You're not a citizen of the Stone Country either."

Ren's lips pressed together to form a thin line. "What are you talking about?"

Tsunade smiled menacingly, fore the battle had just shifted in her favor. "You were found in the Rice Country. This means that you are no longer a citizen of the Stone Country. I'm assuming you now live in the Rice Country, where no such treaties protect you from serving your punishment here in the Leaf Village." Check mate.

Now it was Ren's turn to be silent for a moment. _Were_ there any treaties or laws that protected her? Damn… as far as she knew… there weren't any. "What do you want?" she said with a sigh, knowing defeat when she saw it.

"You will remain in the village and work until you have made enough money to balance what the failed mission cost us as well as the cost of the tracking and retrieval mission that brought you here."

"Are you kidding me!? With the cost of buying an apartment, groceries, utility bills, _plus_ paying back for the missions! That will take forever! Besides, what will I do? Stir noodles for minimum wage?" she sneered.

"Not quite, you will work here, in my office, as my political analyst." Tsunade smirked at Ren's dumb struck expression. "You will also undergo therapy sessions with a person of my choosing, to make sure you're being honest."

Ren saw through that in an instant. "So in other words, you're going to watch me like a hawk, and have someone dig around in my head for any valuable information." She said in a snotty tone. "What I want to know is… why? Why are you so interested in my life and what I do?"

Tsunade's smile faltered a bit. "Let's just say that you are a valuable asset to have and your welfare has created a shared interest among many people."

"OK, that's not evasive… or creepy." Ren replied sarcastically. "You didn't tell me where I would be living, or who would be my warden, if your 'shared interest in my welfare' was any big hint."

Where would she stay? Who could she stay with? She couldn't stay with any of the men in front of her. Neji, Kiba and Shino all lived with their families in their clan compounds and it would be _very_ inappropriate for Ren to stay with Sasuke. Tsunade couldn't let Ren stay with her; she didn't like roommates… wait… Kurenai! Perfect! Kurenai was facing hard times because she couldn't work the long missions because she couldn't leave her five year old son, Asai, alone. She was having difficulty paying the bills with the income from the low level missions and being a single mother since Asuma was killed. Tsunade could pay Kurenai for an S-ranked mission to watch the 'emotionally unstable foreigner'! Everyone wins!

"Kiba, Shino, please take Ren to get situated with Kurenai."

Kiba and Shino both nodded at this. Kurenai had been their jonin sensei that had watched over their genin squad. They tried to help their sensei out as much as they could, but she was a stubborn woman. She wouldn't take any money they offered her; she would rather work for it. This would help her a lot.

"Ren," Tsunade called just as the three were walking out the door. "We will finish going over everything in the morning. Be here at 10 am, and bring Kurenai with you."

With that said, Ren nodded, giving in. She would serve her punishment peacefully… maybe… because somewhere deep down…deep, DEEP… like center of the earth deep… she knew that she deserved it. But she'd be damned if she'd admit it!

.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

Tsunade watched from her window as Ren, Kiba and Shino made their way through the night darkened streets in the direction of Kurenai's house. There were still two other occupants in the room besides herself. She was a bit surprised that Sasuke had decided to stay behind. But it was a good thing he did; now she wouldn't need to repeat herself.

"You both will be relieved form any official missions for a while." Information such as this would normally enrage a shinobi, whose entire livelihood depends on the commissions they earn from successful missions. But both men knew that this was a special case, that there was more than meets the eye.

"I need you to keep a watchful eye on her. Not tonight, Kurenai will do that. She won't blindly trust Ren, so go home and get some sleep. Tomorrow, your mission will begin."

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**I am **_**so**_** sorry that it has been so long!**

**I have been really sick and then I had to start work at my new job…**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter…**

**REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW…cuz I love it when you do…**


	10. Customarily Polite

If?

Chapter 10

Disclaimer: No, I don't own Naruto, no matter how much I wish I did… oh well…

A few brief but rather loud raps to the door, had a woman scrambling out of her bed. With a kunai in hand, just in case, she made her way quickly and quietly to the front door. It would not be pleasant for anyone if the little bundle of joy in the back of the house woke up from the noise. Asai was a handful when he was fully rested, when he was tired, then he turned into an absolute nightmare.

When she arrived at the front door she wrenched it open with such force the unlucky people on the other side took a swift step back. She glared furiously at two of the members of the old genin team she taught before they grew up and became capable ANBU.

"Why in the world do you have to cause so much blasted noise in the middle of the night Kiba!" Kurenai whispered angrily. "Are you trying to wake Asai and make my life difficult?"

"Neh, sorry Kurenai-sensei. I wasn't trying to…" said Kiba, as he chuckled guiltily.

Shino decided now was the time to finally step in. "We are actually here on orders from the Hokage."

Shino then stepped aside to allow Kurenai to finally see Ren standing behind the two men. Although there wasn't much too really see, for Ren stood behind the two men with her arms crossed and her back turned to the little 'reunion'. She refused to cooperate with this whole farce. She was certainly not going to become all buddy-buddy with these people. She would do her time and then get the hell out. But Kurenai spared only a glance at the back of this unknown woman, and then she turned her questioning gaze to Shino with a look that clearly demanded an answer.

"Who is she?" Kurenai asked bluntly, obviously not in the mood to stand there all night playing twenty questions.

"She is a valuable asset to the village and her welfare has created a shared interest among many people." Shino said in a monotone voice, directly quoting/ mocking the Hokage.

Kurenai only raised her eyebrow at Shino's statement. She knew full well that Shino was evading the question, or at least telling her without actually saying it that all would be explained at a later date. Probably out of earshot of the girl. It is rather rude to talk about someone when they are standing right there.

Kiba, currently feeling left out of the conversation and not enjoying it one bit decided to elaborate. "The Hokage asks that you house Ren for the night as well as escort her to the Hokage tower at 10 am."

Kurenai simply bowed her head and sighed. '_Great, a babysitting mission…_' She thought to herself. She turned her head to get another look at her new 'charge'. '_Long hair, good posture, bit of an attitude… great… just great…_'

"Fine," Kurenai said suddenly, "hey, girl! Are you even going to look at me?"

Ren simply turned her head to the side just a touch to look out of the corner of her eye at the abrasive woman. It only took a second for her to take in Kurenai's appearance. '_Dark, rather curly hair, rumpled clothes… obviously we woke her up. What the…? Are her eyes seriously red? Creepy…_' Ren tilted her head up just the slightest and sniffed in a very arrogant fashion before turning to fully face the woman.

"My name is not _girl_, thank you very much. It's Ren, and I expect to be addressed as such." She said in a very haughty voice.

Kurenai's eyebrows shot up in surprise before coming down to form a sharp and angry expression. "_Excuse me_? I'm afraid I didn't know your name, because it is customarily polite for a person to introduce themselves instead of standing away from the group with their back turned. It is especially rude when one of those people is willing to put a roof over your head and food in your mouth."

"I never asked for you to do such a thing, nor do I really care what is _customarily polite_ at this certain point in time, because believe it or not, I don't really have a choice as to where I am staying." Ren replied in a tight voice.

Kiba growled at Ren's display of disrespect and cut into the argument. "You don't have to stay here you know." He said angrily.

"Kurenai-sensei is being kind enough to allow you to stay with her instead of in a prison cell." Shino added in as well. "But we can quickly remedy the situation if you are so opposed to staying here."

Ren glared at the lot of them and marched her way towards the group and got right into Kurenai's face.

"Alright, I'll play nice, for now. So, where will I be sleeping, warden?"

"Come, I will show you to your room." Kurenai said as she motioned with her arm for Ren to go ahead of her. She threw a glance back at the two men outside as she shut the door.

This was going to be a long night.

.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

As she heard the door behind her close with a soft 'click', Ren finally allowed her shoulders to sag as she let out a heavy sigh. She was in a small room in the back of the house on the second floor. As she and the woman, Kurenai, were walking to the room that Ren would be staying, Ren counted the doors in the hallway. There were four doors, so assuming that one was a bathroom, which meant that it was a three bedroom home. Once again assuming, Ren figured that she was placed in the guest bedroom. Why else would the room be almost completely empty except for a double bed, a dresser, and a desk and its matching chair and a small table lamp.

She was silent as she strained listened for Kurenai to walk away from the other side of the door and go back to bed. But no such luck. She heard the stairs creaking as Kurenai made her way back to the small living room they had passed. Of course, this Kurenai must be a shinobi as well, and automatically knew that she had to make sure that Ren couldn't escape.

Ren walked over to the bed and took off her dirty, travel stained clothes. _'Eww… I have been wearing the same clothes for weeks… even if I was able to wash them, they are still gross.'_ She stripped down to her undergarments and crawled into bed.

As she laid there in bed waiting for sleep to claim her she thought about Hama and Himoro… Were they worried about her? '_Of course they're worried…'_ She told herself. Is Hama going to be okay without her? Were they looking in town for her? Will they know where to look for me? How soon did they realize she was missing? Have they already given up? These questions and many more flashed through Ren's mind as she slipped silently off into a fitful slumber.

* * *

**I finally decided to continue with this story after a lot of debating. I still can't believe I lost my notebook with the story in it, but hey, it happens… **

**I can't remember where I was going with this story, but I will try my best to continue… but I have lost my creative edge.**

**I am a very ocd person, and it bothers me to leave the story unfinished… but I can't think of where I was going or want the story to go.**

**Sooooo… I'm asking anyone who reads the story to drop a review with any ideas, or contact me through FF messages. Any ideas would be most appreciated…**

**ANYWHO… PLEASE REVIEW!!!!! **


	11. Houseguests

If?

Chapter 11

* * *

Kurenai sighed deeply as she took a long swig from the cup of tea in her hand. A cup of scalding hot tea was always the best companion to a restless night. She gazed out the window in her tiny kitchen and counted all of the toys that Asai had left out in the backyard the previous day. '_Today is going to be a living hell…'_ She thought to herself morbidly.

She had stayed up all night in the living room reading because even if her 'guest' wasn't a shinobi, which she clearly wasn't (the girls' small stature and the fact that she didn't have a shinobi headband revealed that fact.) Kurenai still needed to be cautious, despite appearances. She would never allow harm to come to her little baby. _'What the hell was the Hokage thinking…? Didn't she even stop to remember that I have Asai to take care of?' _

She was shaken out of her thoughts when the little devil himself came hurtling down the stairs.

.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

'_What the hell..?'_

Ren shot up out of her slumber as she heard what sounded like a herd of elephants rampaging outside her door. She crawled her way to the edge of the bed and looked out the window over the desk to see a beautiful blue sky without a cloud in sight. _'Lovely day… too bad I'm being held here against my will…'_ She thought to herself cynically.

With a heavy sigh she lifted herself off the bed and dug through the dresser. No way was she going to put on her filthy old clothes… she would rather eat her own tongue. In the dresser drawer she found a long sleeved mesh shirt with a tight long sleeved grey shirt to go under. _'Lovely…'_ In another drawer she found a pair of black tight black leggings that came down to just under the knee and were a little too snug, but would have to do. In the last drawer she found three quarter length sleeved midnight blue shirt that was so long it could pass as a dress and came down to mid thigh. The sleeves were loose and the neck line even looser to the point that it was almost hanging off her shoulder. But that was just fine with her; at least it would cover up what the leggings revealed. _'Great… now I look like a fucking ninja too…'_ She thought with a fair amount of displeasure. In a futile attempt to tame her wild locks, she ran her hands through it, managing only to get out the worst of the snarls before giving up. _'This will be as good as it's going to get, I suppose…'_

Heaving another great sigh, she slipped on her sandals and made her way out the door to face her _warden._

.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

Kurenai glanced up from Asai's normal toddler babbling when she heard the stairs creaking. Sure enough, within moments, the disgruntled form of her newest houseguest made its appearance. She watched as Ren merely raised an eyebrow at the babbling child before stepping farther into the kitchen.

Kurenai's eyes narrowed and she quickly and sarcastically made the comment that she knew would tick the girl off. "Go ahead; help yourself to my clothes… I don't mind."

That statement earned Kurenai a furious glare from the disgruntled girl, and sure enough, Ren shot back with her own snide remark. "Oh, well I'm sorry, but did it look like I had anything else to change into? I don't recall lugging a suitcase or back pack with me. Oh! That's right! Because I didn't! Because I was abducted, and for the past few weeks I have been dragged across the country and manhandled by your lovely and _gracious_ shinobi. Who, by the way, didn't even have the decency to stop anywhere and get me any clothes or other necessary traveling items!"

Kurenai merely stared at her with a hard expression for several minutes. Then she finally said in a calm voice, "Okay… Why were you abducted in the first place?"

"Because when I drugged one of your shinobi it interfered with their mission."

That had Kurenai's brain stuttering for a second… "What? Why the hell did you drug a shinobi? More importantly, _who _did you drug?" She asked, her brows creasing in confusion.

"The rude one that thinks he's better than everyone. He has hair that looks like a chicken's ass." Ren said with a slight smirk as she waved her hand over the back of her head to mimic the hair style.

Kurenai's eyebrows shot up nearly into her hairline. If it hadn't been for Kurenai's mastery of her emotions, she would have burst out laughing. _'She drugged Sasuke!?'_ But instead of laughing, she let out a rather unlady like snort and repeated her first question.

With a smug smirk still firmly in place, Ren drawled in a very sarcastic tone. "He was getting rather handsy… if you know what I mean. But he was a shinobi, and I knew that fact almost immediately, I mean he practically exudes power… so I couldn't just say no, guys like that get rather nasty when they are denied their 'conquests'." Ren lied through her teeth, but in a very believable manner. Obviously Kurenai didn't catch the lie, but that might have been mostly due to the fact that she was too busy laughing up a lung. "But when I drugged him his mission was interrupted. After I had drugged him my family and I fled the country, because not only did I piss off foreign shinobi, but I would have been charged with harboring illegal foreign shinobi if anyone had found out. So my family and I fled to the Rice Country, which was where I was found and then abducted and brought here to make reparations to your village."

Kurenai was leaning up against the counter clutching her side when Ren finished her explanation. "So you're not a shinobi at all?" Kurenai asked, sounding amused.

"Nope."

Kurenai doubled over in laughter again. "I'm… sorry but… the thought of you, a _civilian_, bringing down… Sasuke Uchiha… it's just too funny!" She gasped between her bouts of hysterical laughter.

Ren smiled slightly. _'Maybe my _warden_ isn't so bad after all… but that still doesn't mean I'm going to get all chummy with these people.'_ Ren was startled out of her thoughts when she wound up with a face full of mush, courtesy of one screaming little boy that was feeling left out of the conversation.

.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

They were still about a half an hour early when Ren and Kurenai meandered into the Hokage tower after dropping off the little bundle of chatter with a man in flak jacket. He was definitely an odd one. For one thing he looked to be around her age, with his hair in a pony tail, and he was smoking a cigarette even though he looked like he didn't care for it one bit… or at least that seemed strange to Ren.

'_Whatever… this whole village seems to be a bit screwy…'_ Ren thought to herself as she recollected back to everything she had seen that morning while Kurenai dragged her through the village. _'People wearing Capri's with bandaged legs, some with those green flak jackets. Some were even jumping from roof to roof! What is wrong with walking on the ground?! Show offs much?'_

Ren mentally shook herself to clear her thoughts as she saw her 'nemesis', aka, the Hokage, walking towards her with a very pissed off expression adorning her face. She glanced out of the corner of her eye and slightly glared at Kurenai who could barely contain looking like a child waiting for a present. Ren rolled her eyes as she prepared herself for the hellish conversation she knew would be in her very near future.

.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

A man lurking in the darkened corner of the room also fought to contain his smile as he watched the Hokage bear down upon the two women. His companion merely rolled his eyes as he felt the malicious excitement practically pouring off of his teammate. He restrained himself from punching said teammate… but just barely.

.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

Tsunade stalked toward Ren and Kurenai with an expression of anger… mostly because Shizune hid her sake bottle…_ again._ But another part was just for dramatic emphasis.

"Hello Ren, Kurenai." She greeted with a smirk towards the older woman. "Follow me Ren, we can begin your psychological evaluation today and get that out of the way."

Tsunade watched with interest as Ren's body stiffened just the slightest and her face donned a mask of stony indifference. She held back a chuckle as Ren let out a heavy sigh and said in an irritated tone, "Let's get this over with."

Tsunade turned on her heel and began leading the two women down the hallway. As they were nearing their destination, she let her smirk develop into a full blown, malicious smile as she thought about the future meeting.

'_Oh yeah, Inoichi and Ibiki are going to have fun with this one…'_

_

* * *

_

**Dun-dun-dun!! Ibiki and Inoichi finally get a part in the next chapter!!!!!! Yay!!! I 3 Ibiki … not like that… I just love his tough as unbendable/unbreakable steel character.**

**Lol! I love writing the new personality for Hinata… the one in the original Naruto series makes me want to pound my head into a wall… I understand the shyness and know that some can't help it… but it still frustrates me…**

**Anyway, I finally wrote out the plotline for the story… and I think it is better that I think I was originally thinking about for the story… if that makes any sense…**

**I WANT REVIEWS!!!!! …………………….. please? :)**


	12. It's All Psychological

If?

Chapter 12

"What the hell are you doing?! Get out of my head! Don't you have any manners? Don't you know it's rude to just go gallivanting around in someone else's head?" Ren seethed from her current position of standing on her chair and leaning over the table to get right up in Inoichi's face. "_PLUS _it is way creepy! You're so old! You have no right to go through an innocent young girl's mind! You could be corrupting me! _PERVERT_!"

Ibiki rolled his eyes at the slip of a girl that was currently 'ripping Inoichi a new one', or that's what she called it. He had to admit, the girl had a pair of lungs, and a mouth to match. She had been ranting for over ten minutes… Doesn't she ever get tired..?

.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

On the other side of the door, Tsunade, Kurenai, and Shizune were doing all they could not to make too much racket with their hysterical laughter as they listened to Ren's ranting and raving from inside the interrogation room. They were doubled over, clutching their sides and gasping for breath when Ren's new 'chaperones' appeared before them.

Sasuke beat down any form of expression from crossing his face except a mild one of irritation, even though he was close to dying from hilarity on the inside. Neji, on the other hand, allowed a tiny trace of amusement to show through the smug smirk that adorned his face.

Everyone quickly froze when the door behind Tsunade abruptly opened and a monstrously tall, scarred man emerged from the room. The head of the ANBU Torture and Interrogation Unit merely nodded a greeting to all those present in the hallway before turning his full attention to his Hokage. He gave her a blank stare and then began to give his report on what he thought of the little chit of a girl that was still berating Inoichi.

"You were right, Lady Tsunade." Ibiki Morino admitted glumly. "I thought you had been pulling my leg when you said she would be a tough one to crack. At first glance, she appears to be a very young, sweet, naïve, innocent girl. But she's not."

Tsunade nodded for everyone in the hallway to follow her up to her office. It would not do well to linger where even the walls have ears. This was one situation that she wanted to keep strictly confidential. She and Neji had already briefed Shizune, Ibiki and Inoichi on the matter. She would brief Kurenai after Ibiki's report. Sasuke was to be kept on a need to know basis, not that Tsunade doubted his ability to keep a secret; it was just that it was more entertaining watching him squirm from being kept out of the loop. Unfortunately she would have to include him in on everything shortly, and as much as she hated to admit it, his _skills_ would come in handy very shortly.

After everyone filed into her office she relieved the ANBU guards and securely locked the door. Once she was satisfied that they would not be overheard, she took her seat behind her desk and surveyed the chosen few that she entrusted with this information.

Ibiki was standing before her desk, in a perfect and respectful military stance; his legs shoulder width apart and his hand clasping each other in the small of his back. Beside Ibiki stood Kurenai, who looked calm and confident, even though the tension in the room was so substantial that it could be sliced with even a dull kunai. Behind her stood her ever faithful assistant Shizune, and as usual, Tonton, Tsunade's pet pig, was held securely within Shizune's arms. The blatant anxieties displayed on Shizune's face made the small seed of worry in her own mind grow increasingly larger with every passing second. Without moving her head, Tsunade locked gazes with Neji, who was lounging on the window sill. He was looking out the corner of his eye and for the briefest moment, she thought she saw a hint of the worry he was burdened with as well. The only one in the room that didn't seem to be bothered by the tension was Sasuke, who was leaning on the door. His head was slightly bent, so she couldn't see his eyes. But as if he felt her gaze on him, he tilted his head up just a touch and she saw an obvious intelligence in his eyes. It was as if he knew what was going on, even though she never briefed him. _'Leave it to the Uchiha to figure it all out.' _

All of her scrutiny took less than a minute before she snapped her gaze back to Ibiki and motioned for him to continue his report.

"This girl is intelligent." Ibiki began flatly, no hint of emotion or opinion in his voice. "She knows what people expect of her, which is to act like a kind, sensibly naïve, and innocent girl. Which she is to some extent, but she also has a rather vicious and fiery personality that she smothers into dormancy only to be seen when she becomes especially angry or frightened. She is also rather adept as deflecting questions of any kind. Even in the short amount of time I sat in to observe her, I can say beyond a reasonable doubt that this girl probably has mental layers that even I don't think I can crack."

That admission had everyone in the room frowning. Ibiki was the best in his field, if he couldn't crack this girl, then they might not ever get anything from her.

"This Ren Maki is also a very defensive person, but only seems to act upon her rage when she feels that she has something to protect. She spoke with me briefly on the subject of her parents, but when I tried to dig deeper to find out more about them she quickly shut down." Ibiki's frown deepened slightly as he continued with his report. "She opened up a little about her likes and dislikes, and what she thought of our village and the few people she has met." He tossed a _look_ back to Sasuke, which had said man scowling. "But anything about her past was immediately met with an impenetrable barrier. If I may be so bold Lady Hokage?"

Tsunade nodded her consent. This had to be important for Ibiki to ask her in such a way with others present.

"I would like to be present for any and all of the girls psychological examinations and for the normal therapy sessions."

Tsunade tilted her head slightly, "Request granted. By the way, what set her off earlier?"

Ibiki rolled his eyes in irritation just at the mere mention of _that_ incident. "Inoichi tried to pick her brain without any permission or warning to anyone. I have no idea why he felt the need to do so, because I was managing well enough with simple questions. I believe we will have an even longer road ahead of us after this debacle."

.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

'_That's an understatement.'_ Sasuke thought to himself while listening with half an ear to Tsunade brief Kurenai and himself into this '_officially_ off the record mission'. He had already figured this out ages ago. They were waiting for Inoichi to finish the therapy session with Ren. _'More like waiting for Ren to finish cutting Inoichi down to size.'_

He first became suspicious of the girl after Neji and Tsunade both admitted to having no knowledge of a Hyuga hidden in the Stone Country. So, like what any reasonable person would do, he went to the library and searched through the Hyuga clan biography section as well as any old newspapers that had an obituary about a Hyuga. When that turned up 'surprisingly' little information, he got creative, meaning that he used his connections to Sakura and the ANBU to gain access to the Hokage's library. That was more productive because every resident in the village has a file that documents everything, and everything means _everything_, from birthdates, first steps, when one first began to talk, to a childhood case of chickenpox. Everything was recorded; at least if one was a shinobi, born into a shinobi clan, married a shinobi, or was a third great-grandchild twice removed of a shinobi. The village wanted to know everything. The documents for normal civilians were much less extensive, and they were only copies. The real civilian files were kept at the hospital, where they were needed and used more regularly.

After several hours of searching, he finally found part of a file, and was immediately suspicious. For one thing, it was the file of a Hyuga, which meant that it should have been rather large and informative. But it wasn't. In fact, it had almost no information, even though the person was the first child of the Hyuga clan leader. Also the fact that it looked as though several pages of information on the child's history were ripped out and other spots were black barred over. The only way for a person's file to look that way was if a person went rogue, which in that case then the file was permanently removed from a semi-public place, or if a person's shinobi career was so vast and filled with confidential S-class or above missions. One of the more damning fact that lead to the assumption that something was very wrong was the fact that it was hidden inside the file of a Hyuga branch member that died thirty years ago. Then the final observation occurred the night that his ANBU team escorted Ren to see the Hokage. Tsunade was reading from a folder, the file of one Hinata Hyuga, the same girl whose file he had found, and which was still in his possession. Except for the blaring fact that this file had not been raided, or at least it didn't have any black outs that he could see.

Sasuke was willing to bet his Sharingan on his final assumption that the file that the Hokage was reading from was an incomplete, tampered file.

Sasuke's thoughts were violently interrupted by a vicious and angry pounding on the door.

.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

If it weren't for the fact that the door to the Hokage's office was locked, Inoichi would have burst in and demanded to be removed from ever having to deal with that woman ever again. But as it was, the door was firmly locked, so he settled for violently, but respectfully, pounding on the door.

Inoichi schooled his so as not to let on how disturbed he was when the door was opened by the Uchiha. He scowled at the Uchiha as he made his way into the room. Inoichi did not care for the man one bit. After all, the Uchiha traitor broke his little girls' heart when he ran away. Fathers do NOT forgive or forget.

But alas, as soon as he approached the Hokage's desk he immediately pushed aside all pleasant thoughts of how to murder the Uchiha to focus on giving his report of her mental status. Just the thought of the last hour being alone with that girl was enough to put a permanent scowl on his face.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow and nodded for him to begin his report.

"That girl… is a demon in disguise."

**LOL! I loved writing Ibiki! He has a somewhat difficult personality to write. He is incredibly loyal to the village and he has a very rigid ideology about how a shinobi should act. He is a fan of privacy and was reluctant to go all out on Ren for the fact that he was still unsure of her mental capacity, which was why he was so pissed when Inoichi tried to pick her mind.**

**Inoichi's view on Ren is coming up in the next chapter!!!!! YEAH!!!!**

**I'm going to try to update at least once a week, but I'm not sure how long that is going to last. I have sooooooooo much homework now… it's a tad ridiculous. Taking TWO blocks of math at the same time? WHAT THE HELL WAS I THINKING!!!!! Grrrr….**

**ANYWAY…. Please review, it will at least make my math mental meltdown a little more bearable.**


	13. Unanswered Questions

If?

Chapter 13

**I wanted to try something different with the story… so I decided that for now at least, I am going to use P.O.V.'s for some sections. I hope this will clear up some things and make the story more interesting.**

* * *

NEJI

We were all silent as we waited for Inoichi to continue with his statement. I was attempting—attempt being the key word—to give off a look of general indifference in the situation—as if I didn't care. But it was a lie. I cared. A lot. This girl that we forced into coming to the village; the girl that we abducted, dragged across the country, and lied to, could be my long lost and beloved cousin. So, yes, I cared. I had a vested interest after all.

"She would not have turned into such a _demon_ if you had listened to me and not tried to force your way into her head." Ibiki said tightly, disapproval practically radiating from his stern form.

I agreed with Ibiki, at least in my head. Now was not the time for me to begin preaching. I figure this is the best opportunity I have to get more information on Hinata, or who I assumed to be Hinata. From what I had begun to figure out from the few weeks of being around by 'supposed' cousin was—like most common people—she was not a fan of having her personal agenda and property invaded. She became downright vicious when others began to invade her privacy.

I watched with rapt attention as Inoichi's face tightened slightly at the reprimand and he began to defend his actions in a haughty voice that I didn't care for at all. "She wasn't even supposed to know! She shouldn't have felt it at all! I wasn't digging for information. I was simply gauging her emotions."

From the corner of my eye I watched as the Hokage's frown deepened. She was about to ask a question when Kurenai voiced it for her.

"Why would you need to _gauge_ her emotions in the first place?" Kurenai asked bluntly. "No—more importantly, _how_ was this girl, who has had no proper ninja training mind you, able to get the best of not just one, but _two_ of the Leaf Villages top interrogators?"

I once again found myself inwardly agreeing with my peers, but once again also deciding not to voice my opinions aloud. It is not wise for anyone to anger a mind jutsu specialist. Especially when said specialist was experienced in driving people insane or killing without leaving a single trace of their involvement behind. So, thanking my luck that Inoichi's ire was not directed in my direction, I watched as he continued to give his report.

"For starters, I was gauging her emotions as a method of deciphering if she was being truthful or not, as well as if she was holding back. This was more often the case I found from what little time I was able to have a tap on her." Inoichi bit out, as though frustrated at his lack of progress even after being stuck in the same room with the person for over two hours. "She felt the tap almost immediately and when she realized what it was she began to throw me out. Her method of expulsion was rather crude—but effective."

I cleared my throat to bring attention to myself. "If I'm not mistaken, sir, is it not incredibly rare for someone to be able to feel a mental probe, much less for one to completely expel one from their mind?"

At my inquiry, Inoichi merely nodded grimly. "Yes, it is. But there are some individuals that are naturals with mind jutsu. But I do not believe her to be one of them. I believe someone has been training her to develop mental shields against any form of mental invasion. As I said, her method was very crude, meaning that she inadvertently showed me a few things she probably wished to remain hidden. When she was evicting me from her mind, I saw a brief glimpse of her cerebellum as a whole—that is where a person's memories are stored—and it was a disturbing visual."

Inoichi was silent for a moment or two—as though he was thinking of a way to properly articulate his findings. He released a hearty sigh that instantly set me on edge. It was a sigh that foreshadowed a dreadful explanation. He looked as though he was informing a family that one of their loved ones would not be returning. When I was finally feeling impatient enough and was about to make a comment he continued.

"I'm not sure how to describe what I saw; it's hard to put into words. The best I can do is to have you think about what the brain of a mentally disturbed person would look like on the inside. It would be chaotic and disordered, a mind without any rhyme or reason or logic to guide it. In other words— severely unstable. I'm not saying that she is, or her whole brain is unstable—just the memory portion. It's similar to a mental wasteland; there are a lot of holes where it looks as if a lot of memories weren't just locked away—which is what people normally do to conceal secret information—but in her case it looked as though someone attempted to _remove_ her memories by ripping them out by force."

I remained silent, though on the inside I was fuming and quite a bit disturbed. I was completely and utterly repulsed by what Inoichi had disclosed to us. To rip a person's memories out is beyond inhumane. It is a wonder how the girl did not end up comatose for the rest of her life—or even survived for that matter.

"What would be the consequences of forcefully stripping a person of their memories?" Kurenai asked softly. She—as well as the rest of the occupants of the office—looked highly disturbed as well. Shizune looked like she might even be sick.

Inoichi looked to the Hokage to answer the question—which was logical—seeing as how she would be the one to know what the after effects of such an ordeal would be. She was a healer. Inoichi was the interrogator. He dealt the damage, and the Hokage fixed it.

She refused to meet my eyes—or anyone else's for that matter—so I knew it was not good news. She stared at her fingers that were folded together gracefully a top her desk. No emotion adorned her face whatsoever.

"The consequences of such a procedure," She snorted in a rather unlady like manner. "Would be, of course, no memory of any events that occurred before the ordeal. Also there might be some temporary to permanent memory loss that could and probably does affect her even to this day and after. We can not assume that her cerebellum was the only area of the brain that was touched by such an awful procedure. If other areas of the brain were tampered with it could have caused a few other mental defects that could have affected her growth not only mentally, like psychologically and behaviorally, but also physically as well. It could cause anxiety disorders, mood disorders—such as depressions—psychotic disorders—like schizophrenia—a personality disorder, the list is so long."

"Did you see anything else, Inoichi?" Shizune asked politely, her eyebrows were creased together with evident worry. Whether for the safety of the village or for the future of Ren, I do not know.

Inoichi slowly shook his head in a negative fashion, obviously regretful that he had no pleasant information on the matter.

"I spent weeks observing her. She never seemed like she had any mental demons, she only seemed to be a tad forgetful." I said calmly, and carefully. If I was found to be too close to the issue I might be removed from the mission. This wasn't a case of just a normal kidnapping anymore. With the new evidence brought to light it could, in fact, be hiding a horrific plot to destroy the village or the Hyuga clan by some unknown group. Or it could be even worse, an internal conspiracy.

Either way, this was bad. If she turned out to be mentally unstable she would be quarantined and this mystery of her identity would never be solved. It hurt me to even think of the torment she must have endured and might still be fighting.

"What will become of her?" Kurenai asked softly.

I know not if the anxiety that was running rampant through my body at that point in time was obvious to everyone in the room as it was to the Hokage. All I know is that she looked straight at me when she finally gave her answer concerning the fate of my 'alleged' cousin.

"We will move her to my home. Shizune and I will watch over her there until we deem if she is safe or not."

.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

REN

I sat in the interrogation room all by my pitiful, lonesome self. _Finally_. Truth be told, I was a little grateful for the momentary snatches of solitude. They allowed me to gather my wits about me and, step by step, examine what had previously taken place.

To say I was a little pissed off at my treatment by that 'psychological examiner' would be a drastic understatement. In fact, I was downright _furious_. When I sarcastically said that I knew the Hokage wanted to rummage through my head I never meant _literally_. I never thought that these people would go that far.

What would be the point?

What did they want?

What was I to them?

Of what significance was I to them?

More importantly, what do they want from me?

* * *

**Alright! :) Chapter 13 is finit-o!**

**I hope you guys liked the fact that I kind of got into Neji's head a little. I just felt like he was in the story, but he wasn't really making the impact that I wanted him to originally make.**

**ANYWAY… Please REVIEW! I really do enjoy reading them. :)**


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